Susan Harrison
Image003.jpg|Susan Harrison, circa 1994 Susan Harrison.jpg Real Name: Susan Mary Hurley Harrison Nicknames: No known nicknames Location: Ruxton, Maryland Date: August 6, 1994 Bio Occupation: Entrepreneur in selling hand crafted lamp shades Date of Birth: March 2, 1942 Height: 5'6 Weight: 115 lbs. Marital Status: Divorced Characteristics: Caucasian female. Case Details: Susan Hurley was a mother with two teenage sons, Nick and Jon, when she met and married Jim Harrison. Their relationship was rocky, full of heavy drinking and and frequent fights, but he blamed the fighting on her alleged manic depression. He claimed that she would yell, scream, fight with him, and destroy things. Nick and Jon dispute that claim, saying they hadn't seen any signs of it. Susan and her ex-husband shared custody of Nick and Jon. On one night, Jon was visiting prospective colleges while Nick was at Susan's home. Nick claims that he woke up at around 2AM and heard Susan and Jim fighting. She came into his room crying, saying that Jim was hurting her. Nick called Jon's girlfriend and she agreed to come pick him up. While waiting outside, Nick witnessed Jim abusing Susan. He came to her aid and told Jim to leave her alone. Jim, however, claimed that he never abused her and only defended himself. Police officers had been called on several occasions. One officer reported that Susan did have bruises, but was unable to get the full story from her and Jim. Finally, in January 1994, she left him to start her own business, selling hand-crafted lamp shades. Shortly after, she began seeing Jim again and the fighting continued. In early August, Nick and Jon gave her an ultimatum: either stay with Jim or with them. The next morning, she decided to leave Jim for good. Two days later, on August 5, Nick arrived at her home and found it open and empty. Her car was gone and a set of keys were on the kitchen table. He waited until 2AM and then went home. The next day, he and Jon notified the police who began an investigation. The police questioned Jim about Susan and her whereabouts. He claimed that she visited him three times on August 5. He claimed that she was upset at first, but after she took a nap, she was much happier. Two hours later, she took another one. When she woke from it, however, her mood changed for the worse. According to him, she became angry and belligerent. She then left in her car. Authorities immediately began a search for her missing car, a 1992 green Saab convertible, as it would provide clues to help find her. After three weeks, it was discovered at Washington National Airport, approximately seventy miles south of her home. Records showed that it entered the parking lot at 6AM on August 6. The keys were in the ignition, the gas tank was half full, and the battery was dead raising the question "Did Susan walk away from her life and family?" The police now had it but little leads to go by and she was still missing. Later in August, Jim took and failed a polygraph test, claiming it was flawed. The police have found no evidence that Susan disappeared on her own accord. They, along with her family, believe that foul play was involved. Suspects: The police have found no evidence of another person in the case and consider Jim the prime suspect. Suspicion remained with him, although he disputed and denied all the allegations. Police records, medical records, and testimony from a forensic psychiatrist have all supported Susan's allegations of abuse by Jim. Witnesses, including family and friends, have also confirmed the abuse. His propensity for violence was also shown when he tried to assault police officers on three separate occasions when he was arrested for public intoxication. Jim's actions following Susan's disappearance have been suspicious. He acted surprised when Nick and Susan's brother called him, asking about her whereabouts, despite being earlier told by police that she was missing. He changed his story about where he was the morning following his disappearance. He claimed that he was jogging that morning, despite being an overweight alcoholic who did not normally exercise. A week after Susan vanished, Jim asked his cleaning lady to clean the downstairs bathroom, which was normally clean and seldom used. She noticed that it was filthy, filled with dirt and soil. He also asked her how often she emptied her vacuum cleaner bag. At the time, she didn't know about Susan's disappearance. When she learned about it, she contacted police; unfortunately, she had already emptied the bag by that time. A utility worker who was working on power lines near Jim's home on the night of August 5/6 noticed a car leaving his home at around 4AM. He believed that it was Susan's Saab; this was suspicious as Jim claimed that she had left hours earlier. Susan's family claimed that Jim did nothing to help with the search for Susan. They believe that he accidentally killed her in an argument, put her body in her car, disposed of it, then abandoned the car at the airport before taking public transportation home. After arriving home, they believe that he changed out of his dirty clothes in the basement bathroom and then met with police. Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 8, 1996 episode. Susan's sister, Molly, later wrote the book "Finding Susan" about it. Results: Unresolved. On November 29, 1996, two years after Susan disappeared, her skeletal remains were found in a shallow grave by two hikers in a remote hunting area near Wolfsville, Maryland about fifty miles from her home. Dental records and sapphire earrings confirmed her identity. With head injuries discovered on her skull, the State Medical Examiner ruled that she had been murdered, probably on the day she disappeared. Although Jim claimed to have never been to the area where her remains were found, a witness told investigators that Jim and Susan had visited the area a year before she vanished. In July of 1997, police searched Jim's home for evidence; it is not known if anything was found. Later that month, Nick and Jon filed a $17 million wrongful death suit against Jim. In August of 1999, it was settled privately. Surprisingly, later that year, the Maryland Attorney General's Office ended the criminal investigation into Susan's death due to "insufficient evidence". Her family is convinced that Jim is responsible for her murder, but charges were never filed and he passed away in 2007 at the age of seventy-one. A reward is being offered for information in this case. Links: * Susan Harrison on Unsolved.com * Susan Harrison on RealCrimes.com * Ruxton woman missing on eve trip with son * Missing woman's Saab found at National Airport * The Mystery of Susan Harrison * Susan's Choice - Baltimore Magazine * Skeleton found in W. Maryland is vanished Ruxton woman * Medical examiner says Susan Harrison died of head injuries * Murder ruled in death of woman * Search continues for Ruxton woman's killer * Susan Harrison, missing 2 1/2 years, buried in Boston * Police search husband's home for clues to murder (Page 1) (Page 2) * Family sues husband over woman's unsolved death * Harrison asks for delay in civil case of wife's slaying * Harrison's sons ask for records from state * Wrongful death suit files given to lawyers * Lack of evidence closes alleged murder case * Susan Harrison Murder - The Imperfect Crime * Court cancels death lawsuit * A sister's tribute * Finding Susan by Molly Hurley Moran * Susan Harrison at Find a Grave ---- Category:Maryland Category:1994 Category:Disappearances Category:Missing Spouse Cases Category:Unresolved